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Richter Bragas
Richter Bragas, also known as "The Bleeding Comet", is one of the central protagonists of the first season of Mobile Suit Stark Gundam and the main protagonist of the second. He is an operative assigned to the elite Martian Special Forces Unit known as "Lance Command" ''and the pilot of the ''Stark DragoonGundam throughout the show. Appearance & Personality Richter Bragas is distinguished by his head of wild, extremely pale blonde hair, framing a pair of ruby red eyes and the ghoulish, chalk-white pallor of his skin. Multiple scars criss-cross his face from his days as a member in one of the many cutthroat block-gangs that roam the streets of Mars' surface colonies. He can also sometimes be seen wearing a pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses which he uses to correct the vision in his right eye, in which he is almost completely blind, although Richter prefers to go without whenever possible. Standing at only 160 centimeters he is the shortest of his comrades, a fact for which he is constantly teased. Initially quite reserved, taciturn and introverted, Richter is a born soldier, who took to life in the military with gusto despite his reluctant conscription at the age of thirteen. At first, he is immensely cynical, brought on by a life full of poverty and gang-violence. He expects the worst in people and often finds it, not least because his dry and sarcastic sense of humor serves as a constant annoyance for those not accustomed to him. While he can come across as mocking and rude, it's rarely deliberate, although that's never stopped fellow Gundam Pilot Trafalgar Reed from picking a fight with him when it gets too much. Over the course of the first season, however, Richter mellows and matures, finding enduring friendship in another Gundam Pilot, Iber Valtiade. Despite their differences, the two rub off on each other, and Richter begins to see the world and those around him in a much more optimistic light. He becomes more willing to assert himself and his new bold confidence serves to inspire those around him as the second season begins. At the beginning of the first season, Richter's life has been almost wholly defined by the hardships of his youth. He has never really recovered from the deaths of his parents at an early age in the same accident that blinded him in his right eye, and at the beginning of the show he is defined by a constant need to "make the world make sense." The almost random and accidental nature of his parent's deaths and by extension, his own survival are something he's never been able to deal with himself. As a result, he has a strong sense of destiny, since the only way the world can make sense to him is if his parents died so that he could become a Gundam Pilot and give the Martian people the right to independence they rightly deserve. Growing up in one of Mars' many block-gangs, his early life after the accident was defined by a constant fight for survival on the streets of Mars' capitol of Martium City, until his conscription into the Martian State Armed Forces at the age of thirteen. This near constant hardship engendered a sense of bitterness and resentment towards the Alliance that as a soldier, he is supposed to serve. Despite everything he was told during his training, he never once saw anything about the Alliance that was worth fighting for. As far as he understood it, he saw no point in defending a system that created more and more broken kids like him every day. This changes upon his time at the Extra-Lunar Holmes ''Colony with fellow Gundam Pilot Iber Valtiade. For the first time, he sees a world outside of the streets of Mars, and he is struck by how good the people of the Extra-Lunar colonies live. The oppression of the Earth Alliance isn't as keenly felt here as it is on Mars, and many people are able to live carefree and happy lives despite all of the political and civil strife. This leaves a lasting impression on Richter for the rest of the series, and he resolves to use his Gundam to protect people's right to a carefree and happy life. This, unfortunately, brings him into bitter conflict with the rebels fighting for independence and his fellow Gundam Pilots during the second season. Skills & Abilities As a three-year veteran of the Martian Armed Forces, and a three-year veteran of Martian Special Forces, Richter Bragas is the most experienced soldier of the four Gundam Pilots. As one of ''Lance Command's Intelligence and Reconnaissance specialists, Richter's talents lie primarily in scouting and intelligence gathering, and his cunning and resourceful nature make him an excellent tactician and astute analyst, easily on par with his superior officer Strike Captain Ellessie Aerenthal and the vastly more experienced Admiral Cassius Bernstein of the New Earth Alliance. Like all Lance Command ''operatives, he is a skilled mobile suit pilot and an excellent marksman, with accuracy scores both inside and outside mobile suits sitting at the top of ''Lance Command's best shooters. However, his hand-to-hand combat skills, while entirely adequate, leave much to be desired, not least because of his short and slender frame and partial blindness. Also, thanks to years spent adjusting to the blindness in his right eye, he is somewhat ambidextrous. Although he still favors his right hand in most every day situations, he is more than capable of using his left when the need arises. The first three years of Richter's military career were spent as a Mechanical Technician until he reached what is known on Mars as "Fighting Age" at the age of sixteen. That time spent maintaining all kinds of technology and machines has given him the skills necessary to maintain his Gundam to an entirely adequate standard without the kind of logistical support enjoyed by the other three Gundam Pilots. However, he is still incapable of carrying out any complex repairs by himself, and counts on the services of the mercenary Konrad Sapkowski for long term logistical support. As one of Martian Special Forces' Intelligence & Reconnaissance specialists, he most often pilots a special variant of the Special Forces issue [[LCMW-089 Consul|LCMW-GP89 Consul]], ''called the [[LCMW/IR-SP90 Cyclops|LCMW/IR-SP90 Cyclops'']]'' which is equipped with an expanded Command & Control suite, and armed with a variation on the [[LCMW-089 Consul|LCMW-GP89 ''Consul]]'s standard load-out which includes a Long Beam Rifle for accurate long-range shooting. As the Gundam Pilot of the [[MS-GDM012 Stark Dragoon Gundam|MS-GDM012 Stark Dragoon ''Gundam]], his talents and skills are perfectly suited to the Gundam assigned to him. It, just as the [[LCMW/IR-SP90 Cyclops|LCMW/IR-SP90 Cyclops'']] does, includes an expanded Command & Control suite and a load-out designed for long-range sniping and fire-support. History To be added. Relationships Iber Valtiade Although the two boys couldn't be more different, the two forge an enduring friendship early on in the series. While initially mistrustful of Richter due to his pacifistic beliefs and the Martian's status as a Special Forces Operative, Iber strives to match his friend's determination and sheer tenacity. Richter, for his part, admires Iber's dedication to pacifism and relies on him for his constant encouragement and support. Trafalgar Reed Trafalgar and Richter, contrary to his relationship with Iber, are constant adversaries throughout the series. Their drastically conflicting views and methods put them at odds constantly, and have come to blows more than once. In spite of all this, the two maintain a healthy dose of respect for one another's skills and accomplishments, even if they would never admit it were so. Despite their differences, the two still manage to express regret over the fact that they were never able to reconcile their differences, just prior to their final battle at the close of the second season. Rexia Messervy Richter and Rexia have a strained relationship throughout the first season, largely due to the constant and bitter animosity between the Martian and Trafalgar Reed, the latter being involved in a romantic relationship with Rexia that persists throughout the series. While they never reach the same kind of open hostility shared by Richter and Trafalgar, the bad blood between the two precludes any kind of friendship that might have blossomed otherwise. Although the two never develop any kind of real friendship, they come to tolerate and accept their differences during the events of the second season, even finding common ground in their shared desire to bring an end to the fighting that threatens to engulf the colonies. Eventually, Rexia warms to Richter as the events of the second season play out, expressing appreciation for his new optimism and bold confidence, and even agrees to keep in touch during the show's epilogue following the final battle at the close of the second season. Trivia # His nom de guerre, "The Bleeding Comet", is a reference to the infamous antagonist of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, Char Aznable. # As a token of their friendship, Richter Bragas receives the gift of his own custom "Haro" Unit from Iber Valtiade during the first season. His is blood red with golden eyes, and like it's brother unit, possesses a personality in imitation of the Gundam Pilot it belongs to. Richter's "Haro" expresses its owner's same sense of cynicism, and acts dismissive of others around it. Sarcasm and wry humor are it's main ways of interacting with others, much to their chagrin, and even seems to get on Richter's own nerves much of the time. Nonetheless, the Gundam Pilot and his robot get on famously well despite their comical bickering. Just like Iber's own "Haro" , Richter's crimson "Haro" can recognise each of the four Gundam Pilots by name and appearance.